Thai-Style Red Chicken Curry
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This fragrant Thai chicken curry is a one-pan dish that comes together in just 30 minutes.
I love cooking Thai-style food at home because there are so many recipes that you can create with just a few staples from the Asian food aisle of your neighborhood supermarket. This red chicken curry is case in point: a one-pan dish of tender chicken simmered in a rich, red curry-infused coconut milk sauce, it comes together in just 30 minutes with minimal prep work.
In developing the recipe, the biggest challenge was determining the best way to cook the chicken. Most recipes call for sautéing the chicken first and then warming it in the finished sauce. But the problem with that method, if you’re using white meat, is that the chicken tends to dry out quickly. I found that gently poaching the chicken in the coconut sauce is not only easier but also foolproof. You’ll be so pleased with how tender the chicken turns out when cooked this way!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Thai-Style Red Chicken Curry
Before we get to the step-by-step instructions, a few words about the ingredients:
- Red curry paste is a blend of lemongrass, galangal (Thai ginger), fresh red chilis, and fragrant spices. The spice level will vary depending on the brand of curry paste you use. The brand I use above (Thai Kitchen) makes for a mild, family-friendly dish. For more heat, you can always add a drizzle of Sriracha, some of the seeds of the jalapeño, or some crushed red pepper flakes.
- Be sure to use full-fat coconut milk. The sauce won’t have the same smooth, thick consistency with the reduced-fat variety.
- Fish sauce is a salty, savory condiment often used in East Asian cuisine. It adds a rich umami flavor to sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large nonstick pan. Add the light scallions, garlic, and jalapeño. (The dark green scallions are used as a garnish at the end, as they are mild in flavor and pretty, too.)
Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown.
Add the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar.
Bring to a gentle boil and simmer until thickened, a few minutes.
Add the chicken pieces.
Simmer, stirring occasionally to promote even cooking, until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in the lime juice, dark scallion greens, and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime, if necessary.
Serve with jasmine rice.
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Thai Red Curry Chicken
This fragrant Thai chicken curry is a one-pan dish that comes together in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced, light and dark green parts divided
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced (see note)
- 1 (14-oz) can coconut milk (unsweetened)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2½ tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 1½ pounds chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon lime juice, from 1 lime
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large nonstick pan. Add the light scallions, garlic, and jalapeño and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown.
- Add the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar and whisk together. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, a few minutes. Add the chicken and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to promote even cooking, until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. (Do not let the sauce boil; the idea is to cook the chicken gently so that it's tender.) Stir in the lime juice, dark scallion greens, and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime, if necessary. Serve with jasmine rice.
- Note: As always, take care when working with jalapeño peppers. If you touch the seeds or ribs, be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.
- Note: It's important to wait until you're ready to eat to cook the chicken. If you want to get a head start, prepare the sauce up until the point when the chicken is added. Take it off the heat and then poach the chicken right before serving. If the chicken sits in the hot curry sauce for too long before serving, it will overcook.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 649
- Fat: 51 g
- Saturated fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Sodium: 886 mg
- Cholesterol: 128 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I have probably reviewed this before. Such a wonderful, simple recipe. Made it with turkey tenderloins this time, sliced thin, and some of us had rice noodles instead of rice. Easy to adjust to taste (such as more curry paste, a bit less sugar, etc.) Definitely should try it with shrimp sometime. We always top with sriracha…. A family favorite.
This is one of my favorite dishes to make for guests when I’m short on time. It’s a lot of flavor reward for very little work!
I love the “text ingredients “ feature you’ve included, as I often ask the hubby to stop at the store. Thanks!
This was delicious!! My husband and I loved it, have made thai chicken curry before but this recipe is great!! Thank you
I added shitake mushrooms because we had them and they needed to be used. My family wanted more spicy but are busy adding sriracha sauce. I love it. Will make again.
This is such a great dish as-is, I hesitate to comment that it got me thinking about how to re-create a similar (but different) version of a restaurant dish that is no longer available in my area. It would involve green curry paste, shrimp in lieu of chicken, adding broccoli florets and pieces of grilled pineapple. What I love about your instructions is the sequencing of the ingredients, and the concept of cooking the chicken (or shrimp) in the coconut milk sauce. I think I have prepared every single Thai influenced dish you have published. You really get the amazing and bright flavors of that cuisine!
I’ve made this at least 5 times and follow the recipe exactly, and while the flavor is good, I’ve never been able to make the sauce thicken like it says it should. I guess having a soupy sauce is better than it not tasting good, but the soupy sauce is kind of a disappointment.
Hi Hayley, the sauce in this dish won’t thicken a ton. If you want it to be a bit thicker, I’d mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of cold water together. After the cornstarch is dissolved, add the mixture to the sauce and stir until the sauce has thickened a bit. Hope that helps!
This made for the most cozy Sunday dinner that also had enough for delicious Monday lunch left overs😍 this was so easy! Thank you
We really did not enjoy this recipe as we have most of published recipes…
Followed precisely, but the sauce is where we do not taste authentic good Thai flavors.
It is oddly sweet, alongside the spicy and simply not the best.
On the positive, the chicken was very tender and good cooked gently in this sauce.
Would love good, authentic Thai recipes as we love the cuisine.
Hi JooJoo,
We found the brand “Thai True” curry paste (from Oregon and can purchase on Amazon) to be the closest thing to capturing the authentic Thai flavor. Hope that helps.
Turned out amazing. I fine tuned it by using garlic and added red peppers and asparagus. Usually use green beans as I’ve had in restaurants but had asparagus on hand. It was so delicious!! Definitely making again! Thx!!
Nice
Great flavor! (I’m a wimp with heat so left out the jalapeno).
Didn’t have fish sauce so I used half and half mix of soy sauce and rice vinegar.
Such an easy dish! Added snow peas with the chicken so they wouldn’t cook long and stay crispy. Served this with jasmine rice with the zest from the lime added during cooking, when ‘resting’ 10 min added cashews. Yummm. Entire dish was great, thanks again Jenn for all the great recipes!
Just made tonight! It was absolutely delicious 🤤. As good as our local Thai restaurant if not better lol.
It turned out amazing. I like my stuff Spicy, SPICY so I’ve added 5 thai chilli peppers instead of one jalapeno.